Lu Qiqing, who left Xiangyang Province in May, made a trip to northern Sichuan in mid-August to meet with several timber merchants there. Because he remembered Zhao Dangshi's instructions to propose relatives to Rui Fan, he made a special trip to Hanzhong Mansion to visit Zhu Changhao, the king of Rui.

Hearing that it was someone sent by Zhao Dangshi in Yunxiang Town, Zhu Changhao immediately treated Lu Qiqing as a guest, accompanied by Princess Rui, and carefully inquired about the current situation of the county lord of Huaqing.

Zhu Changhao worships Buddha and is not a good woman, except for Princess Rui, there are few other concubines, so there are not many heirs. Because he was not liked by Emperor Wanli, he was not married at the age of twenty-five, and he was only allowed to be a feudal at the age of twenty-seven, and his two children died before he was half a year old, until he was twenty-nine years old to get a daughter of Huaqing, and after several years of hard work, he finally tossed out a boy as the heir, and he had no thoughts about the continuation of incense.

Although King Yirui has a great inheritance, he is only a daughter and a son under his knees.

Huaqing was born beautiful, smart and kind, and was very popular with Zhu Changhao. At the beginning, his beloved daughter was "kidnapped by thieves", he was heartbroken and had a serious illness, bedridden for more than a year, and almost drove to the west, but fortunately, he heard from Xiang Fan that Huaqing had moved to Xiangyang Palace, and everything was safe, so he was relieved and his health improved.

Zhu Changhao and his wife thought about their daughter and did everything possible to send Huaqing back to Hanzhong, and Xiang Fan of course agreed. However, at the beginning, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Chu, and Henan thieves were in chaos, and the roads were dangerous, so they really didn't dare to send Huaqing to the thousand-mile long road. Waiting for this year, the situation has eased, and Rui Fan has moved again, but he can send a few groups of envoys to Xiang Fan again, but he will not be able to see Zhu Yiming, the king of Xiang-with Zhao Dangshi personally guarding him, where do they have the slightest chance.

Zhu Changhao has been anxious like an ant on a hot pot for most of the year, and he can't sleep at night.

"The county lord is all right in the Xiangwang Mansion, and the prince and princess don't worry." Zhu Changhao's face was full of anxiety, and Lu Qiqing smiled.

"This king heard that Chu is now peaceful, I don't know when he will be able to send Huaqing back?" Zhu Changhao, who was originally quite fat, was trapped by his heart and became thinner and thinner, and the skin on his face trembled slightly with his words, looking loose and saggy.

Lu Qiqing pretended to be stunned and said: "What is the prince talking about, how can it seem that the county lord is under house arrest by our army." The county lord lives in the Xiangwang Mansion, and it should be the matter of the Xiangwang Mansion to send the county lord back. ”

Zhu Changhao was a little unhappy, thinking that who in this world doesn't know that Chubei is the territory of your lord Zhao Dangshi, and the Xiangwang Mansion is just a shield, and everything is not Zhao Dangshi's military leader?

Compared with other princes, because he had cooperated with Sun Xianzu, Liu Shaozong and other departments in the past, Zhu Changhao knew the flying and domineering of these generals. At that time, Sun Xianzu's power was less than one-tenth of the current Zhao Dangshi, and he was still able to command and act arbitrarily in Hanzhong Mansion, so you can imagine what kind of power and status Zhao Dangshi had in northern Chu.

"Then I don't know what your Excellency is here, why are you here?" Princess Rui knew that Lu Qiqing deliberately pretended to be deaf and dumb, and she was angry, and her face and tone were not so polite.

Lu Qiqing arched his hand to Zhu Changhao and his wife: "The prince and princess mentioned the matter of the county lord's return to the domain, and Lu is here for this. Speaking of this, he sat upright and cleared his throat, "The reason why the county lord has not been able to return to the domain for a long time has both external and internal reasons. ”

"Internal cause?" Princess Rui thought that Hua Qing was ill, and suddenly blushed, "Is she sick?" ”

Lu Qiqing said: "No, the county lord is in good health. Then he said, "The internal reason that Lu said refers to the fact that the county lord and the lord of my family are in love with each other, and they have promised each other for life. He spoke with his chest held out, as if it seemed normal to him.

"Ridiculous, ridiculous!" Zhu Changhao shook his head and brushed his sleeves to get up, "Huaqing, she was taken captive and left, how could she ...... with a thief" When the words came to his mouth, he suddenly remembered that Zhao Dangshi was no longer a thief, so he didn't continue, but just shook his head. Princess Rui, who was sitting next to her, was also stunned and speechless.

"How is it impossible, Ren Zhao Dangshi is now the chief soldier of Yunxiang and the prince of the imperial seal, and the local important minister who defends the frontier for the country and shares the worries of the monarch. The county lord and him can be described as heroes and beauties, but suitable! ”

"This is ......" A young man who was originally standing next to Lu Qiqing suddenly spoke loudly, Zhu Changhao said that he was Lu Qiqing's personal servant, and he didn't pay much attention to it before. Who would have thought that this person would be so ignorant of etiquette and disregard the head of the family to express his views without authorization, he was very surprised.

Lu Qiqing also stood up at this time, and introduced with a little embarrassment: "This is the king of Guiyang, the son of King Xiang. ”

Zhu Changfa ...... Ever seen...... I've seen Brother Wang. The young man scratched his head and thought for a moment.

Zhu Zhandong, the ancestor of the Xiang Domain, is the fifth son of Zhu Gaochi of Mingrenzong, and Zhu Changhao is the eldest son of Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Zhanji of Ming Xuanzong. In terms of generation, Zhu Changhao, who is nearly 30 years older than Zhu Changfa, and he still belong to the same generation of brothers. The ranking in the clan was unclear for a while, but Zhu Changfa's "Brother Wang" was not wrong.

Seeing Zhu Changhao's suspicious face, Zhu Changfa laughed twice, took out a lacquer-sealed letter from his arms and handed it to Zhu Changhao: "This is a letter written by my father to Brother Wang, the stamp on the fire paint and the handwriting and seal in the letter, Brother Wang should be no stranger." ”

For the sake of Huaqing, Zhu Changhao and Zhu Yiming often exchanged letters before, and Zhu Changhao's study was piled up with a thick pile of letters from Xiang Fan. So the letter was suspiciously opened and read carefully, but he couldn't read it halfway through, and the words in it were all about hoping that Zhu Changhao would agree to marry Huaqing to Zhao Dangshi's advice, which was very different from Zhu Yiming's previous attitude. You can review the fonts and seals again, and they are indeed from Zhu Yiming's hand.

Zhu Changhao's face was blue, he pursed his lips and said nothing, Zhu Changfa said: "Brother Wang, don't worry, my Xiang Domain's marriage between the county lord and Zhao Dangshi is sincere, and I have not been subjected to any coercion and coercion. Otherwise, the younger brother would not have willingly taken the initiative to come to Hanzhong Mansion to talk to Zhao Dangshi as a matchmaker. ”

Lu Qiqing said: "Lord Wang, my lord has already prepared a full dowry, just wait for the prince to nod and send it to the house immediately." Treat each other with a naked heart, and there is no hypocrisy. "The so-called dowry, of course, was borrowed from the Confucian family in Sichuan.

Zhu Changfa also said: "My Xiang Fan is willing to be the iceman of this marriage and match the two families." ”

"But ......" Zhu Changhao really can't say if he is bitter, he only has such a daughter, who has been cultivated since she was a child, and is only willing to shape her into a decent and dignified lady of the Wang family, marry a well-educated and talented man with an innocent family background, and deserve a good relationship.

To tell the truth, before Huaqing had an accident, he had already begun to send people to Xi'an Prefecture, Shaanxi Gongyuan, Langzhong County, Chuanbei Gongyuan and other places to entrust the minister of education who presided over the township examination to select a scholar with outstanding appearance and excellent character and learning from the Gongyuan as a candidate for the county horse. If there is no suitable candidate, even if he retreats to the second, no matter how bad he is, he has to be a prince of the capital with a family background and background like Liu Shaozong. It is true that Zhao Dangshi is developed, but every time he thinks that he was born as a thief, the pimple in his heart can't go away.

Zhu Changhao looked back, his wife was frowning and shaking her head slightly, sighing and not saying anything. Zhu Changfa saw it in his eyes, stepped forward and said, "Brother Wang, take a step to speak." Pulling him into the oblique side, he continued, "The old ancestor Emperor Taizu also started from the end of the year in the past, and this is not still the foundation of my Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years. Zhao Dangshi is not what it used to be, and the future is brighter. The county lord followed him, and he couldn't suffer a loss. ”

"That's not what I'm thinking, Zhao Dangshi...... Alas......"

"Do you think Zhao Dangshi is worthy of the county lord?" Zhu Changfa went straight in, "Or do you think that my Xiang clan and the county lord were all coerced by Zhao Dangshi?" ”

"We don't talk to our own family, I think we have both." Zhu Changhao said frankly.

Zhu Changfa sneered: "I am also surnamed Zhu, and my elbow will not turn outward inexplicably." As far as I can see, the county lord and Zhao Dangshi are truly in love, and my Xiang Fan is not the master of the wind and the rudder, so your worries are unnecessary. He also said, "Zhao Dangshi was a thief, all because of the situation forced to do it, you see the court opened the net, he immediately served the country loyally, repeatedly broke the group of thieves, it can be seen that the heart of serving the country." If the prince can go to Chuyu for a walk, he can find that Zhao Dangshi's integrity is well-known, regardless of the civil officialdom, what is circulating is 'Zhao Dangshi, a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty', and no one has ever turned over those boring old accounts. ”

"Alas......"

"The county lord is twenty-two today, and it is the right time to find a good person to entrust him, why should Brother Wang beat the mandarin ducks."

Zhu Changhao listened to it in his heart and sighed secretly. Regardless of whether Hua Qing voluntarily followed Zhao Dangshi or not, it is an ironclad fact that the Xiangyang Mansion where she lives is under Zhao Dangshi's control. If he doesn't agree to the marriage, Zhao Dangshi will be annoyed and arrogant, and he will forcibly detain Huaqing, Shaohua will pass away, and the girl's family really can't afford this expense.

Zhu Changfa observed that Zhu Changhao's heart was shaken, his voice sank, and he threw out a killer move: "Brother Wang, there is still something I have to say to you." After a pause, he stared at the other party's suspicious eyes and said word by word, "County Lord, she...... She is pregnant with Zhao Dangshi's child......"

In the meeting hall of the Three Armed Forces, when Zhu Changfa came to this point, Zhao Dangshi couldn't help but fall back with a chair, crying and laughing: "The prince is so kind of King Rui, it is a bit too much. ”

Unexpectedly, Zhu Changfa said in a loud voice: "How can I deceive, according to the truth, there is no fabrication!" ”

"It's all true......" Zhao Dangshi's eyes widened as he listened, and his heart beat violently in his chest, "Could it be ......?"

Zhu Changfa nodded and said: "Hua Qing told me about being pregnant personally, including my father's letter and my going to Sichuan, all of which were entrusted by her. ”

"Huaqing is actually ......" Zhao Dangshi was speechless for a while, completely surprised. Being pregnant was already a big surprise to him, and Hua Qingyang's gesture of asking Zhu Yiming's father and son to help him was even more shocked and moved.

"I returned to the mansion not long ago, and the county lord's belly has risen slightly." Zhu Changfa said lightly, "What woman would joke about such a big thing?" ”

Zhao Dangshi secretly thought about it, after expelling Zhang Xianzhong into the city of Xiangyang Mansion in February, he sat in charge for a long time, and during that period of time, he did enter and leave Xiangwangfu very frequently, and the two were in love, perhaps the flesh and blood in Huaqing's belly were inadvertently from that time. In April, due to Fan Hecheng's busy government affairs, he left Xiangyang Fucheng, and even if Huaqing was pregnant, it is estimated that even she herself did not pay attention. Later, he was to clear out the thieves, supervise the manufacture of firearms, and rush to help Nanyang, and he was riddled with all kinds of things in the military and politics, and he really had no time to go to Xiangwang's Mansion again. It has been a few months since I pinched my fingers and said goodbye to Huaqing, and I thought that I would visit in two days, but who knew that I would get this great news first.

"...... the king of Nari"

Zhu Changfa smiled: "Naturally, I agreed." The raw rice has been cooked, and neither my father nor Ruiwang can ignore it. Brother Zhao, when it comes to this matter, you are still amazing! He gave a thumbs up.

"Accidents, accidents......" Even after the most difficult battles, Zhao Dangshi never thought about being so uncertain. He only felt that his chest was stuffed with thick cotton, so stuffy that he couldn't breathe at all, he just wanted to find a place where no one was, and shouted wantonly, "Whew-"

"The world is far away, King Rui said, he will not attend the wedding of the county lord, and he will send the dowry at a later date. The marriage will be handled by my Xiang Domain, and my Xiang Fan will also temporarily serve as Huaqing's mother's family. Zhu Changfa is even more colorful, and his head is so high that he is about to reach the sky.

Zhao Dangshi forcibly endured his joy and asked, "Then did King Rui say when he would get married?" ”

Zhu Changfa replied: "It's all up to me to decide, I went back and flipped through the yellow calendar, and discussed it with my father, I felt that it was better to choose a day than to hit the day, since things are going well, then I will make persistent efforts, and the wedding banquet will be done in these days." ”

Lu Qiqing didn't know where to get the courage at this time, and also said: "My subordinates think the same way." ”

On this day, the three of them gathered in the conference hall of the Three Military Mansions, and instantly decided the lifelong event of Zhao Dangshi.